


Wise Up

by Emerald_Inkspot493



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: I cried while writing this, Sort Of Fluff, hospital fic, it's really unapologetically sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 15:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18640582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Inkspot493/pseuds/Emerald_Inkspot493
Summary: Doc and Lightning visit The King after his crash. Lightning...has learned a lot. He's still a nervous kid, but they're more impressed with him now than they were when he was showing off for reporters. I don't know how to put into words all the emotions I have about this short fic so please enjoy it





	Wise Up

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first like 200 words over a few weeks and then did the rest of it tonight. I am emotional and I'm watching Cars right now as I post this. Have fun, enjoy, it's basically just me writing about the few characters I'm good at writing dialogue for and making it emotional. As always,  
> If you liked this, come check out my tumblr @kentucky-fried-yoink. Thanks for reading!

Lightning stood outside the hospital door, running a hand through his hair again.

“Are you trying to fix it or make it worse? I can’t tell. Just go inside.”

“But I’m nervous,” Lightning admitted. “I didn’t bring anything - balloons are too cheesy, right? Should I have brought a card?”

“Just knock on the door. You don’t have anything to worry about, not after what you did last Sunday.”

“It’s not that...it’s just - it’ll be weird, y’know?” The rookie was usually so confident, so at home in front of cameras, but now he seemed unsure.

“Yeah, it will,” Doc sighed. “It’s never fun to visit someone in the hospital. But you did the right thing in coming. Go on,” he gestured.

Lightning knocked softly on the door. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding when Strip answered, a quiet “come in” muffled by the thin door.

He pushed the door open slowly, stopping just inside it.

“Hey, kid,” Strip grinned. “I wasn’t expecting you. Thanks for coming to visit.”

Lightning stopped short. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t this. The man in the hospital bed looked pale and a bit too thin, far from the larger-than-life figure the rookie was used to. His blond hair was messy, and even Lightning could tell his smile was tired.

Doc pushed past the young driver: Lightning didn’t realize he had stopped just inside the doorway. He held out his left hand to shake, since Strip’s right arm was in a cast.

“You got pretty torn up out there, huh? I heard you broke a few ribs.”

“That’s right. They’re what hurt the worst - but I can’t say I feel too bad right now, what with all the medicine they have me on. I probably won’t remember half of this conversation. That and my arm: other than that, I’m just bruised up pretty well. It ain’t half as bad as it looks.” He fell into silence. Lightning knew he wasn’t the best judge, but he was sure the veteran driver was just trying to shrug off his injuries.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Hudson,” Strip looked up again. “I know I’m not much for talking right now, and I can’t be much to look at,” he laughed a little, “but I just wanted to say that I’ve always admired you. It means a lot that you came.”

Doc raised an eyebrow. Lightning realized that he was one of the few people he’d seen who wasn’t at least a little intimidated around the King. Doc was plenty intimidating himself when he wanted to be, Lightning thought.

“None of that ‘mister’ nonsense, you’ve got yourself seven championships, that’s a heck of a lot better than I ever did.” But he was flattered, and Lightning could see it.

“It’s only polite,” Strip was grinning again, even if he was tired.

“Well, I’ve had my fair share of racing injuries. But I’ve got to say, that looked rough from where I was watching. You’ve got to be tough, or lucky, one, to come out with only the injuries you got.”

“My wife would disagree about it being luck, that’s for sure. I’ve got to say, there’s nothing like being in the air knowing you’re about to hit the ground again, especially if you can’t tell which way is up.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

There was a mutual respect in the silence between them that Lightning couldn’t understand after just one season, especially as young as he was. But he was learning.

“You had a good run of it, Weathers. Rest up so you can get out of here and enjoy your retirement,” Doc leaned forward to shake his hand again, preparing to leave.

“I’ll try my best. Thank you again - I’ll see you at the track, right?”

“Can’t stay away, can you? Well, it looks like I can’t, either: someone has to keep this kid in line, huh?” He tousled Lightning’s hair, ignoring his complaints. “I’ll be waiting outside if there’s anything you want to say.”

Lightning knew his crew chief was a man of few words, but he hadn’t been expecting him to wait outside the door. He was still standing where he had stopped, his hands in his pockets.

“Um…I’m sorry, I feel like I should’ve brought a card, or flowers, or something, I thought - Mr. Weathers, I - uh, I guess I didn’t want to show up with something cheesy, but now I’m here and there’s all that stuff people brought, I feel like I should’ve at least done something. I’m really sorry…” Lightning began to ramble. He realized he was doing it, but he kept talking, even though he was telling himself to stop.

“Kid, you ain’t got a thing to be sorry for. I’m impressed by what you did out there on the track where it counts, you don’t need to bring a get-well card.” He smiled again, and Lightning could tell that something had changed, from just a few weeks ago. It was him, he realized.

And suddenly it hit him again just how arrogant he had been, but how much everything that had happened in the past week had changed him for the better. How hadn’t he seen it earlier in the season? Why did he think he could win respect by trying to pretend he was invincible, that he didn’t need anyone’s help. Nobody was invincible, not in racing.

He was rambling again, and he knew it, but it was too late to stop.

“I just looked up and I saw the camera zooming in on your car - that wasn’t supposed to happen, there was one lap left! Less than a lap, even! And I just thought, well I guess I didn’t really think, but I knew I had to do something. I was _terrified_. I didn’t know what to do, I had no idea what would happen when I turned around, I didn’t know if I’d lose my sponsorship because of it. But it just felt like something I had to do. I didn’t even see Chick cross the finish line, I didn’t even realize he’d won until you said something to me about it. But I just…I thought about…Doc, y’know? I’m sure you’ve seen footage of his wreck. That’s all I could think of. And then I thought - I couldn’t do anything to fix that, but maybe it was time to stop creating problems for people and start trying to do what’s right? I know I’m rambling, I’m really sorry, Mr. Weathers. I don’t know if any of that even made sense. I don’t even know if it makes sense to _me_.”

The rookie looked up. Strip was looking back at him, with a soft half-smile. “I knew you could drive when you first showed up. It looks like you figured out the other half, too: you have a heck of a career in front of you, kid. How was I supposed to know the driver who inspired me would be the one to sort you out?”

“I - thank you. I know I never said or did anything to you directly, but I do want to apologize for how I acted for most of the season.” Lightning was more in control of his words now, and of how fast he said them.

Strip shook his head. “All that matters to me is that you got it figured out. Say, how did you get the Hudson Hornet as your crew chief? I’ve been watching the news while I’ve been here, but everyone’s just talking about where you’ve been, not how you convinced him to come back.”

“I didn’t convince him. He wanted me gone, but…well, it looks like getting lost on the way to California changed more than just me, huh? I…I guess I realized a lot of things lately. And I figured out that wrecks can happen to anyone, so we have to look out for each other, right? It’s…it’s not a one-man deal, right?”

Strip laughed: a genuine laugh, not something put on for cameras or reporters. “I guess you were listening after all, Lightnin’.”


End file.
